Sew & Bloom

Shop owner Coventry (Covie) Edwards-Pitt by a bookcase stocked with an ever-evolving selection of botanical-themed titles.

The “fabric wall” showcases samples of Edwards-Pitt’s seventy original fabric designs and inspires customers to mix and match; favorites can then be custom ordered on wallpaper, upholstery, tablecloths, and more.

Packed with all things floral, the inviting display windows at Sew & Bloom in the Observatory Hill neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts, have the (flower) power to lure passerby.

All of the flowers featured in the delightful designs, which grace everything from cushions and consoles to wallcoverings, satin-bound journals, and pillows, once grew in Edwards-Pitt’s garden.

The Love Birds design, which covers the walls in the shop’s back room, is a fan favorite.

The artist at work: “Designing involves a great deal of trial and error. It’s a lot like gardening,” says Edwards-Pitt.

Pretty patterns comingle to create an enchanting tablescape that’s a perfect backdrop for afternoon tea.

The front room at Sew & Bloom features framed original artwork by Edwards-Pitt and a central table where regular classes, on subjects ranging from surface pattern design to AI art, are held.

Call it the long game. The very long game.

Since she was in grade school, Coventry (Covie) Edwards-Pitt has loved flowers. She’d spend countless hours hunched over a notebook sketching her favorite blooms, imagining beautiful bouquets and floral wallpapers with stripes or lattices.

As an adult, she learned to paint in watercolor and eventually to garden. Her subject never wavered. “I’ve always been an artist at heart,” she says. “And my focus has always been flowers and wallpaper.”

But a successful career in the financial industry kept Edwards-Pitt busy. As partner and chief creative officer at Ballentine Partners (a position she still holds today), she authored the firm’s Healthy, Wealthy & Wise collection, a three-book series that seeks to reconcile financial abundance with personal relationships and values.

“About eight years ago,” says Edwards-Pitt, “I wrote my second book called Aged Healthy, Wealthy & Wise, and a question came up in my research: If today was your last day on Earth, what would you regret not having done?”

“I had this very visceral reaction,” she remembers. “I decided to make some time for my art.”

Over the next few years, Edwards-Pitt crafted and culled her hand-drawn and photo-generated floral designs. By the time she opened Sew & Bloom last year, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she had edited her collection down to seventy patterns—charming, cottagey designs that have been compared to the likes of Liberty and Laura Ashley and have graced everything from curtains and wallcoverings to tablecloths and napkins.

The 500-square-foot shop has a three-fold purpose. First, it’s a showcase for the artist’s floral designs, which are featured on fabrics, textiles, and stationery. Next there’s a custom home-decor component: Edwards-Pitt works with clients to create combinations and colors, say for a bedding collection, that speak to them. And finally, there’s a community element. Weekly workshops—think watercolor botanical painting or pressed floral art—provide artistic inspiration. “I view it as sowing seeds,” says Edwards-Pitt. “It allows people to find time for creativity in their lives.”

Edwards-Pitt’s enchanting shop, which was likened to a secret garden by one happy customer, also stocks an array of floral-themed items. Expect gardening books, bouquets (comprised of real or felt flowers), stationery, gifts, and even some botanical-inspired goodies for the kids. “This shop has been in my mind and heart for decades,” says Edwards-Pitt. “I had a lot of time to figure out what I loved, and my dream was to share that.” Sew & Bloom, Cambridge, Mass., sewandbloom.com